UK's Brown hints at further joint rate cuts: report

Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown (L) and Finance Minister Alistair Darling stand on the steps of 10 Downing Street, in central London October 20, 2008.

LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has hinted at the possibility that lower inflation thanks to falling oil prices could prompt central banks around the world to make more joint interest rate cuts, the BBC reported.

"Now inflation is actually coming down over the next few months and that will mean that it gives scope to all the monetary authorities, including the Bank of England, round the world to make a decision about interest rates," it quoted Brown as saying on a weekend trip to Scotland.

The Bank of England base rate now stands at 4.5 percent. It cut it by half a point on October 8, together with the central banks of the United States, the euro zone, Switzerland, Canada and Sweden, in an attempt to combat an economic downturn. China made a smaller cut as part of the same coordinated drive.